Pelican Restcafe

We were pleasantly surprised with our experience at Pelican Café. Our aunt, who was in town visiting before her Caribbean cruise, wanted a quintessential tourist dining experience. What could be more touristy than those restaurants facing the beach on Ocean Drive? I asked a MAC employee what her favorite restaurant was and she recommended Pelican Café between 8^th and 9^th street.
They quickly seated our party of seven (half of us were seated inside the restaurant and half of us were technically on the upper deck of the patio). We enjoyed this seating arrangement because we all got some of the cool air conditioning from indoors while still feeling like we were on the people watching patio.
Everyone liked their dishes. I tried a little bit of everything and shared two entrées. The Tagliatelle Bolognese $ 19 was perfectly saucy and comforting. At $ 17, the Chicken Caeser Salad looked pretty basic and not that exciting, but I wasn’t the one eating it. I enjoyed the prosciutto pizza $ 18 and tuna tartare $ 19. Two people shared the Skinny Girl dish $ 42 which included a variety of fun appetizers that weren’t too heavy on the stomach. While the dishes are somewhat straightforward in their preparation (no fun surprises or unique flair to the food) and pricey, we weren’t disappointed with the portion sizes of the food.
The most impressive dish to me was the Kid’s Burger, $ 7. They presented this dish to the toddler in our group and I thought for sure that they had brought out the wrong burger — possibly the adult burger. The large looking burger was presented in a really cute pan with a nice amount of French fries. The toddler ate all of the burger minus some crispy fries we all sampled. The server’s assistant reassured me that it was the $ 7 Kid’s burger and indeed it was when the bill came.
The server was very accommodating, sweet, and deserving of the 19% automatic service charge.

We ordered Corona margarita and they charged us $ 60 each for that stupid drink
the drink was not on the menu so they charged us insane amount of money and when I spoke to the hostess he was simply rude and said this is MIAMI and it costs money to drink here
very disappointed with service
STAY AWAY from this scam place

Cool place and location but they automatically add a 20% tip. We saw our waitress exactly once before we hunted her down for our check. We wouldn’t come back because of the automatic 20%.

Great location, drinks and atmosphere. The food was ok nothing spectacular. We had the Cuban sandwich and chicken dish.
The place is pricey, most likely due to its location. Their drink specials are pretty good and they have a gigantic margarita that can be shared between a few people.
Our host was attentive for the most part however as the day got busier he seemed a bit stretched thin.

Diesmal nur 3Sterne weil die Musik zumindest auf der Empore so laut ist dass der Kellner nicht versteht was man gerne möchte und man selbst nicht versteht was einem der Kellner erzählt, das mag auf den Plätzen auf dem Gehweg anders sein.
Und dazu kommt noch dass es den köstlichen Pelican Salat nicht mehr gibt und das Bier nicht kalt war, ansonsten sind die Speisen immer noch von hoher Qualität und das Lokal immer einen Besuch wert

I will never go back to this place. I’m not gay and I have not had much friction with people with this sexual preference. But I respect people no matter who they sleep with. In this restaurant I saw the ugliest act DISCRIMINATION I’ve seen, and by the Manager. The manager told a waiter, «helps this fagot, which already has me tired» (referring to a customer). She said near me because she thought I did not speak Spanish. I think someone like that would not work with people. I think the name of this person was Helen or Elena. I’m not really sure. Thank you!!!

This place came recommended from a friend who visited last year. We came here twice! Once for a drink and chips with the guac. (Definitely a good choice). We came another night for dinner and shared the calamari and penne vodka with salmon. We were happy with both our choices. One of the places we really trusted for good food and prices on the strip!

This would have been 5 stars if the staff was a bit more attentive. I’m pretty patient and tolerant for wait staff as I know that it is a very tough job.
I think anytime you need something that you should have can be forgiven quickly if your wait staff checks in routinely and frequent, however that wasn’t the case this morning. We had to ask for silverware, water and other item by flagging down various members of the staff throughout our meal. That was the only disappointment.
Our food however, was awesome. 5 stars for that. The super yogurt was delicious as was the omelet special. No complaints with the food, only service.

I’m usually not a big fan of dining on Ocean Drive… (bad food and poor service). But with cousins visiting from out of town, we decided this would be a fun location for some good people watching! Lol
Everyone enjoyed their dish (everything from lobster paella, to salmon, octopus, NY steak or grilled vegetables) and the service was surprisingly very good. Giuseppe and Concetta were top-​notch!
We had an overall positive experience but some of the reasons why I didn’t give 5 stars are the following: I’ve obviously had better food (although it was good), it was a little pricey for the type of place, the large frozen cocktail was very watered down, and the bill came with an automatic 20% tip.

Got quick brunch here right before my cruise in Miami. We were walking down the strip and just randomly picked the second restaurant that we saw. I was pretty happy that we picked this place because we got a really great discount on our meal and the food was good. Service was really good too. I would recommend this place if you’re looking for a good brunch place.

Are view, such sweet king crab, tender lobster, strong martini’s. This place was great. The staff was great also and they were super busy. Go here, you’ll enjoy it!

We went here after work only because the restaurant that my colleague wanted to go to was closed. This was next door, and he had already shelled out $ 25 for parking.
I was not impressed with anything about this place. First the service was horrible. It took us almost an entire two hours for us to dine here, and the place was not busy at all. We saw our waiter about 5 times. He disappeared for long, long times.
The food was expensive (expected on Miami Beach), but it was not worth it. I order the grouper and it was tough and dry. I didn’t even finish half of it. We also ordered the most expensive Mojito’s I have ever tasted, and they used cheap well Rum. I only had one (it was not strong by any means) and I woke up with a headache from the cheap Rum.
My buddy ordered the Lobster Ravioli and it was not what he was expecting. The Ravioli was prepared, and then pieces of lobster tail were grilled and thrown on top while still in the char-​grilled shell. He battled with the small pieces of lobster tail he was given to get the meat out.
Overall, I would avoid this place. We sat on the patio (best option at this place, IMHO). We went into the restaurant to use the restroom and everything is dated. Including 4 inch «TV» screens in the men’s restroom that were Ghetto mounted behind the tile. Look somewhere else to grab a bite to eat.

Pelican, what happened?
I loved the lobster ravioli that you used to have. It was rich, flavorful, deliciously sinful. The buttery, creamy sauce was delectable. I made a point to visit Pelican on my recent trip to Miami because I loved this dish. I can’t even describe my disappointment this time, but I’ll try…
First, when we sat down, we balked at the price increase. The lobster ravioli that used to be $ 23 was now $ 35. I decided to order it anyway, since I’d had my heart set on it since that morning. However, what was on my plate was nothing like the lobster ravioli I knew and loved. It was served in a red curry-​like sauce? It came with a bunch of shrimp but they were overcooked, so they were chewy. It was, well… disgusting. I couldn’t finish it. My friend ordered the gaucho-​style steak «rare-​medium rare» and it was medium-​well. Ick.
We would have said something to our waiter… if he had so much as glanced at us the entire time we sat there. I had waved my water glass for 10 minutes before receiving a refill from a passing busboy. To add to our sour experience, they automatically added a 20% tip onto the bill. We certainly did not feel that they deserved it, so we shorted them $ 2 tip on a $ 120 bill. Keep in mind, this amounts to an 18% tip rather than 20%. It’s not like we stiffed them; we still gave them a healthy tip despite our experience. As we left, the waiter chased us down, and demanded his $ 2. We only reluctantly obliged out of humiliation…
However, the worst part of the whole ordeal was that *all three* of us got sick from our meals there, one of us to the point of spending the evening vomiting up her dinner.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Très bon restaurant. Service parfait, serveuses agréables et disponibles. J’y ai déjeuné le 31/​12, le restaurant était plein mais le service rapide.

The cook is pretty aweful
Sea bass was sooooooo over salted !!!
Severs very nice but food was like something from a canteen.

Free mimosa brunch! Friendly staff and good eat! I ordered light feather weight to share and it was great!

This place Definitely deserves more then three stars! some the best service I had while staying in Miami. the food is delicious & they even gave us free Mamosa’s! The host named Melvin definitely deserves a raise! he is the only reason why I’m here. Thanks & will see you on out next trip!

The place is on the strip of Miami on Ocean Dr. We were seated quickly, and greeted promptly as well. Our server was an older friendly gentleman who was knowledgeable about the menu and what to recommend. We ordered the surf & turf, seafood platter, NY strip, & fried platter. Everything was cooked as requested! No complaints. Steaks were cooked perfectly. They give you a shit load of food!!! It’s a bit pricey, but hey you’re on the strip of Miami. I expected crazy prices. They did offer a 20% discount for each entrée so it was a plus! The server went above and beyond for my hubby too. He requested hot sauce, they only have Tabasco here, so the server went next door & came back with hot sauce! AWESOMENESS!!! Check them out.

Walking on Ocean drive, we were ambushed by every host as we tried to find a place to eat. After many failures and and attitudes from people, we finally decided on Pelican because we were hungry and were offered a free shot (either sex on the beach or house tequila) and 20% off our check! So of course we were instantly sold!
The bread they bring to the table is nice with herbs accompanied by oil and balsamic.
We ordered plenty and just ate family style.
Calamari: not bad, has a spicy sauce to dip with
Skirt steak: good sauce and weird version of fries (between fish sticks and uncooked potatoes)
Classic Paella: «slappin, pippin, crackin» as my friends would say!!! Very good!
Spinach dip: good! Not enough chips though
Oysters: amazing!!! Fresh!
We also got the 56oz glass of pineapple mojito! It’s very pretty to look at and made with real sugar cane! However, not enticing enough for us to drink. I’m from Vegas… I’m use to real drinks!
Overall… Not a bad place to be… But not spectacular.

Everyone knows that Oceans drive is not known for their culinary skills but I was especially disappointed with this place, given the prices.
I had the branzino and was beyond disappointed. The fish was flavorless and completely blah.
My husband had the sausage pizza. Again very very average. There was more cheese than sausage.
I tried the Alfredo from someone else’s plate and liked it. Creamy and flavorful. Just a tip — add crushed pepper to make it better.
I didn’t try it myself but 3 people with me said the Pesto Pasta was very good. If it’s your first time then maybe you should give this a go.
As for myself I will not be visiting them again so I won’t get that opportunity.

Bar Hopping in South Beach during WMC/​UMF #3
On the next stop of our bar hopping tour in south beach we ended up at Pelican
Mix drinks were decent but for $ 15 not worth the money
Bathrooms were clean and easy to access which was a huge plus!
Overall Thoughts
So far the best of the worse

Who in their right mind expects 5 star cuisine on South Beach? Who goes to South Beach to EAT and then complain about the food? GOOFS, that’s who! This place has great DRINKS. South Beach is a PARTY, not a Top Chef episode for food snobs.
Great spot!!!

Ce soir là, bonne musique electro, serveurs sympas. Risotto asperges et crevettes ainsi que ravioli au homard étaient excellents.

Bön resto sur ocean’s drive.